Top10-Sept

As an added bonus this September, along with the free newsletter you get, you get this month’s Top10 in email format, largely because I forgot to post and link it. But this email is saving you precious seconds of your life but not requiring a link to the wisdom of the ages that lie here within.

1. “Sudden Death” (Alvaro Enrigue) - “As I write, I don’t know what this book is about. It’s not exactly about a tennis match. Nor is it a book about the slow and mysterious integration of America into what we call ‘the Western world’ – an outrageous misapprehension, since from the American perspective, Europe is the East. Maybe it’s just a book about how to write this book; maybe that’s what all books are about. A book with a lot of back and forth, like a game of tennis.” Oh and the best damn painter around Caravaggio in there somehow. Who was also the punk rock John McEnroe of the day. Who was also famously a murderer. It’s I believe the second or third book I’ve reread. And already want to read again.
2. Planinski dom Majerhold - There is no link to this because I don’t want you to go there, but because it’s awesome, is on the Top10. But don’t go. You would hate the mountain lodge with the awful view and shitty surroundings.
3. "Dischord Records founder Ian MacKaye said in a 2013 lecture to the Library of Congress, skateboarding means “learning how to redefine the world around you.”
4. Arcane Bullshit - This guy is doing it. As in what I think I should be doing. Making things that sort of don’t make sense but are sort of funny, but you’re not quite sure.
5. Airplane Facts with Max - This rocker Max fixes airplanes and talks about random things like fantasy fiction along with how he fixed airplanes.
6. Watches that Don’t Tell Time - Again via StratScraps, this is something that comes up from time to time, let’s say when you get a watch for a big birthday from your cousin and you both talk about how a watch is the only thing either of you, or most men for that matter, really wear as decoration. That isn’t nearly as interesting as this though in general, that is because this is utterly frivolous, but in the language of something that is supposed to be utilitarian, but is in fact not especially now in our age of clocks absolutely everywhere.
7. Radio - Imagine an audio source which you passively just consume from. You don’t have to make lists, you don’t have to mark things, edit, manage. Nothing. You turn it on. Imagine a world that simple. If it sucks, you wait. I’m going to start a mindfulness course where you pay me US$10/month and then I tell you to listen to the radio. Wait, I can’t pause this, holy shit do I need to be in the moment and relish every second, in that second.
8. Closer (Veronica Swift covering NIN) - The next time you think, wow, that song really took it out of me, and put me in a bad place. Or something to that extent. You should listen to this otherwise innocuous (sounding) cover which otherwise disarms, despite any lyrical content, any bad vibes. Trying to imagine her covering Neurosis.
9. Programmers are also Human - If you were wondering, and full disclosure I’m related to a bunch of them, they are indeed human. Most of the time. If you were also wondering can programming humour exist? Well, this is it, that is if you either are a programmer or work with them. Or are a robot maybe.
10. Going To Seed In Linoleumville - Not many newsletters you get that purport to really describe a place can get half into as well as this. You can just about smell the linoleum.